The mixing drum arc is extremely old and highly developed but there is little in this art relating to structures of the type needed by home owners and the like having infrequent occasions to engage in cement mixing or other mixing operations. What is needed for this market is a mixing device incorporating drum and frame structures of a knock-down nature so that storage and shipping costs can be minimized but which when assembled, provides a device which permits easy and practical mixing with a "professional touch".
Mixing devices essentially meeting these objectives have been disclosed and claimed in my prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,435,084 issued Mar. 6, 1984 and 4,491,415 issued Jan. 1, 1985. These devices incorporate a unitary frame with an inclined bearing member interfitting with an axial bearing socket on the drum to provide the sole support for the drum and contents with the inclined bearing member also providing mounting means for electrically powered or hand-actuated drive mechanisms. While such devices are extremely versatile, they fall short of filling the needs of home owners and the like for whom hand operation is preferred (because mixing will be done at locations remote from source of electrical power) and for whom mobility of the mixing device and contents after mixing is of primary importance.